NY Post Shows Teen Tanning Bans Do Jack

While lawmakers hoped that imposing a tanning tax would help people cut down on the skin-harming treatment, they should possibly be focusing their efforts on making stricter enforcements on older tanning laws. Since 2009, it’s been illegal for anyone under 14 to use tanning salons, and anyone under 18 must have parental consent. An undercover op by The New York Post shows that in the New York City region, this regulation is rarely followed. A Post reporter sent a 14-year-old to five tanning salons, four of which did not ask for her age or a parental consent form. (To set your minds at ease: the teen didn’t actually go through with the tanning at each stop.) There’s more bad news. Tanning salon employees are required to warn clients about the dangers of indoor baking and inform them about the serious melanoma and cancer risks associated with tanning beds. According to the Post: “None of the 13 parlors visited provided the state’s official tanning-hazards information sheet or the ‘statement of acknowledgment form,’ on which the customer indicates knowing the dangers.” What’s to be done? Should tanning salons be checked up on regularly and fined when not in compliance? [New York Post]